Perimeter air blender



Sept. 9, 1958 N. B. WATKINS ,9

' PERIMETER AIR BLENDER Filed June 28, 1954 Y 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.-

Sept. 9, 1958 N. B. WATKINS PERIMETER AIR BLENDER Filed June 28, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 VENTOR.

- I r I 78 J WWM ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 9, 1958 N. B. WATKINS ,8

PERIMETER AIR BLENDER Filed June 28, 1954 5 sheets-sheet a INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 9, 1958 Filed June 28, 1954 "MIN" N. B. WATKINS PERIMETERAIR BLENDER r 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS.

INV

TOR. 45%

United States Patent F PERIMETER AIR BLENDER 'Norman'Burlin Watkins, -Wichita,YKans.,..assignor to .The "CiolemanlCompan-y, Inc.,' Wichita, }Kans., a corporation -'ofKansas Application June I 2.8, 1954, Serial :No; 439,7 33

" Claims. '(CIJ98-38) This invention :relates to:a perimeter air blender, and is particularly'useful in the blending of :conditioned rair ,(hotor cold) with room air and fordischarging the same rthrough outlets at the perimeter or border of-the room. Other .uses of the, invention will be. obvious.

An object. of .the inventionu'slo provide anoutlettdevice adapted to be placed nearthe base or .borderof a'room 'for receivingconditioned air, mixing the :same with the :room air and discharging-the mixed. air into theinterior of the .room. .A further object isto provide in such a mixer means for effectively combining the conditioned air -.With the ,room air and discharging the'same .inta man- ,ner for uniformly controlling the .temperature of the .room- Yet another object :is .to provide'within a relatively compact elongated structure means-for thoroughly -mixing :the conditioned air with the room air and .discharging the combined stream through wide arcs for uniform control of temperatures of .the interior space. A still further object is to provide in a discharge nozzle and ,air mixer means for accurately controlling ,theymixing of the:air, the volume thereof, and for discharging the com- .bined stream in a generally semicircular direction. Other specific objects .and advantages will appear as thespecification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in ansillustrative:embodiment, by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure .l is a top plan .viewzofa perimeter blender device embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a front view in elevation; Fig. 3, an end view; Fig. 4, a front view in ele- *vation of the .nozzle casing employed; Fig. 5, a top plan view of .the znozzle casing; .Fig. 6,.a:transverse sectional view; :Fig. 7, a developed .perspective'view showing the valve or damper structure and the control mechanism therefor, the parts beingcshown in spaced-apart relation; Fig. 8, 1a toptplan viewofan air baflie employed within the mixer casing; Fig. 9, afront view of .the baflle 'shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 9a, .a bottom plan view of the structure shown in Figs. 8 and 9; Fig. 10, a transverse sectional wiew, the section being taken at line 10-10 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11, a detail sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 11-11 of Fig. 9; Fig. 12, a top plan view of a baifle or rear wall of the mixer casing; Fig. 13, a front view in elevation of the baflle shown in Fig. 12; Fig. 14, a vertical sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 14--14 of Fig. 13; Fig. 15, a detail sectional view, the section :being taken as indicated at line 15-15 of Fig. 13; Fig. 16, a perspective view of the bottom of the mixer casing; Fig. 17 a vertical sec tional view on an enlarged scale, the section being taken as indicated at line 1717 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 18, a broken, detail sectional view on an enlarged scale, the section being taken as indicated at line 18-18 of Fig. 2.

In the illustration given, 10 designates a pipe leading from a hot air furnace or air conditioner and discharging into an elongated connector pipe 11. The connector pipe 11 fits within the lower throat or inlet portion 13 of a nozzle casing 12, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2, 4 and 17. The nozzle casing 12 provides an elongated cham- 2,850,959 i atented Sept. 9, 1958 "ber' l4 of-thegenerzllshape indicated 'in Fig. '4 an'rl dischargesthe air'afl along its elongated top and-also attlre ends'thereof. As sh-own'bestin Fig. 5, the ama narrows near its top to provide a relatively narrowpas- "sage -14, "the walls 15 and 16 which en'close the restricted apassage -14 being relatively closely spaced *together (and extending not only to the top of the casing but also in the same closely-spaced relationtoward the ends of the casing, whereby heated air is dischargedthrough :the re- .stricted chamber-.or-passage all along the top ofthe-nozzle zandialsoin a generally.horizontalplane through the .ends

ofthe leasing.

..An'y suitable means for controlling the .flow :of the heated tair'through the nozzle chamber .may .be provided. In the specific illustration given, .I provide a -hinged damper 17 which .isprovided with three .spacedIhinge members 18 .extending through the .casing 13 tandengaginga p'ivot,pin.19 onthe outside of casing .13. '.The damper 17 .ispreferably provided with a sealingpad 20 .of Qtlt .or tothermaterial for effectively sealing the throat within ..c-asing v13:. .In the specific :structure shown, there are-securedmto the casing 13 spacer members '21 and 22 supportinga slide member 23 equipped with a control handle '24. .A .screw .25 secures the parts .releasably together, and a link.26 connects the slide 23 and'integral .handle 24 to ametal'loop '27 whichis fixedto the damper v.plate .17. The slide member 23 'is enclosed within :the 'framemember23 and the slotted memberf29'bymeans of the screwfZS, as shown more clearly .in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and '7. 'The member 28 provides friction so that the damper will not be moved by the air stream and the men'iber29 acts as astop so that the system can behalanced. 'It will'be understood that any suitable means forpositioning the damper or valve 17 in the desired position for controlling the flow of heated air through casing1'3 may be employed.

About the nozzle casing which has been described, 1 provide a mixer casing which is elfective for-introducing roomair into contact with the heated or conditioned-air '(hot or cold) and'for discharging the same into the-room. In the specific illustration given, the mixer casing "is e'quippedwith a front wall 30 having at its front side an air-intake grille 31. The rear wall 32 of the mixer casing has a lower, substantially straight portion'3'3 and'an upper curved portion 34 which will be described in greaterdetail hereinafter and which is effective in ;provi'dingguide'means'for the flow of air about the discharge oft'he nozzle'casing. The top wall 35 of the mixer casing is'provided'with 'a plurality 'of outlet grilles 3 6, as shown more clearly-in Figs. '1 and 17. The end walls 37 of'the mixer casing are-provided with outlet grilles 38, :as shown mOreclearly inFi-gJ-S and Fig. 18.

Within the-mixer casing l'provide, n'earthefrontth'ere of, a bafileor air guide 39, which is shown in detail in Figs. 8, 9, 9a, 10 and 11. The curvature of the baffle 39 is such as to produce a Venturi effect with the rear wall portion 34 not only about the vertical discharge opening of the nozzle casing, but also (as shown best in Fig. 18) in the end portions of the mixer casing communicating with the end outlets of the nozzle casing. As indicated in Figs. 8, 9, 9a, 10, l1, l7 and 18, the bathe 39 has a forwardly-extending bottom flange 40 merging into a vertical flange 41 which is received within a recessed portion 42 of the front wall 30. At its upper end, the bafile 39 is provided with a Z-shaped portion 43 received within the flange portion 44 of the end wall 35.

The rear wall 32 has a lower, relatively straight portion 33, as shown more clearly in Figs. 12 to 15, inclusive, and the upper curved wall portion 34 has the configuration shown best in Figs. 12 to 15, inclusive. The lower wall portion 33 has at its bottom an angular flange 45 terminating in a horizontal flange 46. The flange 46 The bracket member or bottom 47, as shown best in Fig. 16, is apertured centrally at 48 to receive the casing portion 13.

Operation In the operation of the structure, conditioned air is passed through pipe 10 leading from a hot air furnace into the connector pipe 11 and thence into the pipe 13 of the nozzle casing 12. The conditioned air passes upwardly and then laterally and thence outwardly through the narrow passage 14 leading through the top of the nozzle and also out the sides of the nozzles, thus discharging air generally in a semi-circular or arcuate pattern. The conditioned air passes through a Venturi-like opening provided about the nozzle discharge along its top and ends, this passage being provided mainly by the curved rear wall portion 34 and front bafile portion 39. Air is drawn from the room through the intake grille 31 and about the nozzle casing and is mixed with the conditioned air in the Venturi passages at the top and ends of the mixer casing. The mixed air is then discharged through the top grilles 36 of the casing and through the end grilles 38 of the easing. The resulting pattern of discharged air is fan-like in shape and the air is discharged not only upwardly but lengthwise of the room. By turning the vanes in the discharge grilles, the pattern of air can be caused to flow at various angles into the interior of the room. The Venturi structure afiorded by the walls 34 and 39 not only causes the incoming air to follow the contour of the nozzle casing and carry heat therefrom, but also causes a substantial portion of the air to travel toward the ends of the casing as well as to the top of the casing where the turbulence produced through the discharge of the conditioned air is effective in producing even mixing of the conditioned and room air.

While, in the foregoing specification, I have set forth a specific structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating the invention, such details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A perimeter air mixer cabinet, comprising a relatively long outer casing having an inlet for room air near 1 its bottom, a nozzle casing mounted within said outer casing and having centrally a port for the admission of conditioned air, said nozzle casing being generally wingshaped and having elongated arms extending outwardly toward the ends of said outer casing and having a substantially continuous restricted nozzle extending perimetrically along the top and ends thereof, the rear wall of said outer casing being bowed inwardly along said nozzle, and a baflle within said outer casing extending along said nozzle and providing with said bowed portion a constricted passageway terminating in a perimetric outlet in the top and side walls of said outer casing and extending along said nozzle.

2. The mixer cabinet of claim 1 in which each of said arms tapers outwardly therealong to a reduced dimension from top to bottom at its ends, and in which the perimetric outlet of said outer casing is provided with discharge grilles.

3. A perimeter air mixer cabinet, comprising a rectangular shaped casing having outlets in its top and side walls and inlets in its bottom and front walls, a wingshaped nozzle vertically disposed in said casing and cornmunicating with said bottom inlet, said nozzle having a restricted outlet along the top and sides thereof aligned with said casing outlets and spaced therefrom, a portion of the rear wall of said casing being bowed inwardly along said nozzle outlet, and a baffle secured to said front wall extending along said nozzle outlet and providing, with the bowed portion of said rear wall, a constricted passage terminating in said casing outlets.

4. A structure according to claim 3, in which the said front wall inlet is approximately coterminous with said wing-shaped nozzle and said baffle is secured to said front wall about the top and sides of said front wall inlet.

5. A perimeter air mixer cabinet, comprising a relatively long outer casing having an inlet for room air near its bottom, a nozzle casing mounted within said outer casing and having centrally a port for the admission of conditioned air, said nozzle casing being generally wingshaped and having elongated arms extending outwardly toward the ends of said outer casing and having a substantially continuous restricted nozzle extending perimetrically along the top and end thereof, the front and rear walls of said outer casing being provided with inset portions along said nozzle, said inset portions providing a constricted passageway terminating in a perimetric outlet in the top and side Walls of the outer casing and extending along said nozzle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,000,597 Keyes May 7, 1935 2,032,692 Foss Mar. 3, 1936 2,511,490 Bauer June 13, 1950 2,593,133 Geary Apr. 15, 1952 2,613,587 MacCracken Oct. 14, 1952 2,724,321 Kagan Nov. 22, 1955 2,773,678 Simmons Dec. 11, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 968,359 1 France Apr. 19, 1950 

